Ripple Announces $50M University Blockchain Research Initiative

The company is partnering with 17 prestigious universities around the
world to support the workforce of the future

June 04, 2018 06:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ripple is launching the University Blockchain Research Initiative
(UBRI), a program comprised of collaborative partnerships with leading
universities globally to support academic research, technical
development and innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital
payments. Through the program, Ripple will donate $50M to universities
around the world to help shape the workforce of the future.

UBRI is launching with 17 initial partners, including:

The University of Pennsylvania

CSAIL at MIT

The Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University

Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

University of Waterloo

UCL (University College London)

University of Oregon

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Korea University

University of Luxembourg

Delft University of Technology (Netherlands)

University of Nicosia (Cyprus)

Australian National University

Fundação Getulio Vargas (Brazil)

McCombs School of Business, UT-Austin

IIT Bombay

International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H)

Each university will determine its own research topics and areas of
focus. In addition to providing financial resources, Ripple is committed
to collaborating with universities by providing subject matter expertise
and technical resources, as needed.

As globalization increases, so does the demand for technological
solutions and talent to solve the world’s hardest financial problems. A
report from 2017 showed that global investment in FinTech companies grew
by 11 percent. In addition, 4,500 job openings with the terms
“blockchain,” “bitcoin” or “cryptocurrency” in the title were posted on
LinkedIn this year. That’s an increase of 151% over the total LinkedIn
postings mentioning those terms in 2017.

As funding and demand for talent grows, universities and their student
bodies are in a position to put themselves on the forefront of a growing
industry.

“Academia has traditionally been a critical driver of
technical innovation. The University Blockchain Research Initiative is
an acknowledgment of the vital importance of the unique role
universities will play in advancing our understanding and application of
cryptography and blockchain technology.It also speaks to the
reality that university graduates will fuel a continually evolving and
maturing financial marketplace and workforce,” said Eric van Miltenburg,
SVP of Global Operations at Ripple. “Much of the enthusiasm and activity
to date around blockchain is disconnected from real use cases that
result in clear benefits to businesses or civil society. While Ripple
won’t dictate research parameters, we are excited to play a role in
helping to support faculty and student-led projects that explore
increasingly useful applications of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.”

The initial launch partners represent a broad cross section of
geographies and markets, as well as a rich blend of academic
disciplines. In addition, Ripple is committed to working with campus
initiatives to increase diversity in blockchain, cryptocurrency, FinTech
and related fields.